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This is an update of a previous post I made reviewing PureVPN in China. To be honest, it wasn't a great review. However, since then, some things have been brought to my attention, and I've changed a lot of my views about PureVPN, and whether or not their a good choice for users in China.
Errors from my previous post
- SSTP is not blocked in China
- PPTP and L2TP only blocked in some areas of China
- PureVPN does not have options for Mac/Win XP users in China
I guess it kind of depends on where you are. The truth is that this year, many users in China have experienced issues with PPTP and L2TP VPN protocols, and there was a time (March 2011) when pretty much all of China was unable to connect to the internet using these two protocols. I wouldn't recommend them for someone who has other options – ie SSTP or OpenVPN. For users on iPhone and Android, a web based proxy is always an option as well. However, for smartphone users who want to use PPTP or L2TP, it is possible, and PureVPN does currently offer these services.
SSTP is was created by Microsoft, so you can imagine that it has a limited range of compatibility – Windows Vista and Windows 7. However, for Vista and Win 7 users, it's a great option because with SSTP VPN clients already installed in these operating systems, you don't have to install any 3rd party software, ie OpenVPN.
Mac, Win XP (plus anything outside Vista/7), and Linux users get a kind of Chinese special "cocktail" VPN. These tech guys know what they're doing, and basically, they can get you hooked up and surfing any site you want – but I don't know what kind of VPN is it. Unfortunately, you'll have to contact their support team for details.
Though they do but a bandwidth limit on two of their VPN plans, don't let the 30G cap scare you – i'ts pretty hard to even get close to that unless you're doing some serious downloading and streaming. Back when 12VPN offered limited plans, I also signed up for a 30G monthly limit, and for day to day surfing and video streaming, I rarely topped 10G for an entire month.
Considering that StrongVPN and SwitchVPN have had their main domains blocked, iVPN's live support team is never actually online, and Astrill's live support is rude and unhelpful, for someone who's looking for a reliable and friendly live support option, PureVPN is a good choice. Also, their service has continued uninterrupted throughout all the craziness of the last few months. This makes PureVPN a very solid option for users in China.
Yearly Plans
$75 / $145 / $160
I know that a lot of people in China travel around quite a bit, and with all the cool stuff apple has come out with lately, everyone is using wifi. The airport, the internet cafe, work, the dorm, school. There are tons of places where you can get connected to a public wifi zone.